Jean Sasson - 9 April

For the Love of a Son

Jean Sasson

2010 by The Sasson Corporation.
All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of The Sasson Corporation.

Map of Afghanistan by Evan T. White

This book is a non-fictional account based on the life, experiences and recollections of the heroine as told to the author. In some limited cases names of people, places, dates, sequences or details of events have been changed to protect the privacy of others. The heroine has stated to the author that, except in such minor respects not affecting the substantial accuracy of the work, the contents of this book are true.

Jean Sasson is the sharp-eyed and compassionate chronicler of womens lives in the Muslim world. Author of the worldwide bestsellers Princess, Daughters of Arabia, Desert Royal, Mayada: Daughter of Iraq, Love in a Torn Land and Growing up Bin Laden, she lived in Saudi Arabia for twelve years, and has travelled throughout the Middle East for thirty years. She currently makes her home in the southern United States.

For more information on Jean Sasson and her books, see her website at www.jeansasson.com

ALSO BY JEAN SASSON

NON-FICTION

The Rape of Kuwait

Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia

Princess Sultanas Daughters (Daughters of Arabia)

Princess Sultanas Circle (Desert Royal)

Mayada, Daughter of Iraq

Love in a Torn Land: One Womans Daring Escape from Saddams Poison Gas Attacks On the Kurdish People of Iraq

Growing up Bin Laden: Osamas Wife and Son Take Us Inside Their Secret World

American Chick in Saudi Arabia

HISTORICAL FICTION

Esters Child

For more information on Jean Sasson and her books, see her website at:
www.jeansasson.com

From our heroine Maryam Khail
These memories of Afghanistan are dedicated to three people
who loved Afghanistan with all their hearts:
To my beloved parents, and to Farid, my big brother,
I miss you every day of my life.

From author Jean Sasson
For every woman in Afghanistan who silently suffers
unimaginable abuse at the hands of the men who
should love and respect her.
Im sure these women wonder if anyone in the world cares.
I care.

A Special Thank You to Paul Hams and Alison MacColl

There are little stories attached to all important events in our lives. A few years ago while on book tour in London, I was fortunate to meet a unique man named Paul Hams. Paul is a loving husband to Claire and a devoted father to sons Robert and Richard and a talented chef who also owns a London black cab. Paul is a very skilled driver who escorts favored customers around London and other areas in the UK.

Paul and I hit it off immediately. He's an excellent driver who makes life in London much easier for an out-of-towner like myself. Paul and I had some fun days as he was delivering me to various business meetings. He's an interesting man with a wonderful family and I adored hearing about Claire and the boys. When I had a little free time, Paul transported me to Harrods and other fun shopping spots, accompanying me inside the stores to keep me company while volunteering to help me carry bags. Paul and I had a great time and I came to appreciate what a fine young man he is. Later he took me to his warm and inviting home to meet the very lovely Claire, like her husband, who made me feel a member of the family.

A solid friendship was borne and from that time on I knew I'd never call on anyone but Paul when I was lucky enough to be in London, one of my favorite cities in the world.

Paul and I kept in email touch, exchanging news about our families. A year or so later, Paul sent an email saying he had met a woman named Alison MacColl while in holidaying in Spain. This woman was talking about the books I had written, telling Paul that she had a wonderful friend, Maryam Totakhail, who grew up in Afghanistan. According to Alison, Maryam's story was very compelling. She had previously written her story and had even hired an editor to clean it up; yet the book failed to interest publishers. Alison said that it was a great disappointment to all that the book remained unpublished. Alison had the idea that I would be the perfect writer to make Maryam's dream come true. That's when Paul told an astonished Allison that he and I were friends. Allison asked how she might contact me, to tell me about Maryam's compelling life and to ask if I might consider writing her story. Paul, always protective of my privacy, said that he would give me a call to see what I thought of the idea.

I'm lucky enough to receive five to ten requests each month from women who have lived through dramatic times, stories that I believe the world should know. Sadly, I can only write one book every year or so; therefore, I must turn down most requests. Also, once I have written a story that takes place in a specific country, I rarely write another story set in that same land since I take care to write about the historical background of each heroine's homeland. At that time Paul contacted me, I had written about Princess Sultana of Saudi Arabia, Mayada of Iraq and Joanna of Iraqi Kurdistan and was working on the story of Najwa and Omar Bin Laden, which was set in various countries. For years I have wanted to write stories set in Lebanon, Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan, India and Thailand, but thus far the moon and stars had not come together for me to write a book with those countries as a backdrop.

Trusting Paul's judgment completely, after he told me about Alison's enthusiasm for her friend's dramatic story, I said that he should feel free to pass along my private email address.

Soon I heard from Alison when she wrote a heartfelt letter about Maryam. Alison was a sincere friend of Maryam's wanting nothing more than to jump start the project that as to that time, remained unsuccessful. After speaking to Alison, I agreed to speak with Maryam. It's important for me to get to know the subjects I write about, to deeply feel their intense emotions. Unfortunately, there are times when there is no heart-to-heart connection and I must turn away from a promising book project. Therefore, until I met Maryam, I had no way of knowing if her story would be my next project. Maryam and I spoke several times and I heard her story from her own lips, as I did not want to read the story previously written about her. Soon I felt connected to Maryam and her family life, asking her to fly to London to meet with my publisher there, plus to travel on to the USA and meet with my literary agent in New York. For those who question whether my heroines/heroes live, I'd like to add the fact I've never written about any heroine or hero who did not first meet, or at least speak with my publisher(s) and literary agent(s), and this goes for Princess Sultana, Mayada, Joanna, Omar and Najwa Bin Laden, and Maryam. Publishers routinely speak with, or meet, all the subjects of my books.

My publisher fell in love with the very beautiful and dramatic Maryam, agreeing that her story was one that should be told.

Given a green light, I notified Maryam and Alison, who were were ecstatic. I saw that Alison's joy matched Maryam's excitement. I knew that Maryam was lucky to have such a staunch friend.

This is a book that I would have never written had Paul Hams not met Alison MacColl. I am very pleased and happy to thank Paul and Alison for their role in bringing this very important story to my attention.

Maryam feels exactly the same.

Thank you Paul! Thank you Alison!